O.K. Corral: A Gunfight Shrouded in Mystery By Casey Tefertiller and Jeff Morey Cowboy Billy Clanton still lay dying, his face contorted with pain, when the press began the difficult task of piecing together the details of an October 1881 street battle in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. In later years it would become known as the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Richard Rule, veteran city editor of the Tombstone Nugget, helped carry Clanton into the house where the young man would pass into history, then returned to the streets to go to work. With the canny eye of an experienced newsman, Rule began collecting the details of the gunfight, interviewing witnesses and trying to get a handle on what transpired during that fateful half minute and what led up to the battle. It would be a model of frontier journalism and vital to future understanding of perhaps the most debated event of the American frontier. The saga of the O.K. Corral has been told repeatedly and from many perspectives, often with fictional intrusions and biased analysis.

Now, for the first time in 120 years, we may have an authentic understanding of the events that led to the gunfight and what actually occurred in the streets of Tombstone — with a great deal of help from Richard Rule. Read More in Wild West Magazine Subscribe online and save nearly 40%!!! Through the tense summer of 1881, emotions had grown explosive. Bands of rustlers roamed the backcountry, stealing cattle mostly in Mexico or from Mexican ranchers in Arizona and New Mexico territories and then selling them to apparently legitimate ranchers for resale. The Clanton and McLaury families owned ranches reputed to be headquarters for receiving stolen cattle. This great cattle scam drew little ire from an American population more interested in acquiring wealth in the rich new mining areas than investigating international relations. In addition, Mexico had assessed high taxes on alcohol and tobacco, and smugglers came to southern Arizona Territory to purchase the goods cheaply for resale south of the border. The cash- and jewel-laden smugglers provided an easy target for American bandits. As that fateful year of 1881 progressed, the situation changed.

The Mexican government dropped taxes on alcohol and tobacco and then lodged numerous protests with federal and territorial officials to try to stop the outlawry against Mexican citizens. Territorial Governor John C. Frémont, the old pathfinder and the first Republican presidential candidate in 1856, suggested in February that the territorial Legislature fund a state militia to ride against the outlaws and stop the rustling. Legislators hooted down the visionary plan. The Mexican government built a series of forts along the border and began to fight back against the American outlaws. American rustlers George Turner and Alfred McAllister were killed in Mexico during a raid on May 13. Back on the U.S. side of the border, citizens also began to grow agitated over outlawry, particularly because of what happened on March 15. Three robbers that day attempted to intercept a stagecoach traveling from Tombstone to Benson, Arizona Territory. Driver Eli ‘Budd’ Philpot and passenger Peter Roerig were killed. Jim Crane, William Leonard and Harry Head were identified as the robbers. With Frémont’s militia plan discarded, there was little to counter the rustling and other crimes that gripped southern Arizona Territory.

Cochise County Sheriff John Behan and his deputies were charged with battling the rustlers, who became known as the ‘Cowboys.’ But Behan was at best ineffective and at worst crooked. His deputy Billy Breakenridge would tell how he deputized Cowboy leader ‘Curly Bill’ Brocius (or ‘Curley Bill’ Brocious) and used him to help collect taxes. And Wells, Fargo detective James Hume was quoted as saying, ‘Even the sheriff of the county?is in with the cowboys and he has got to be or his life would not be worth a farthing.’ The federal government was represented by U.S. Deputy Marshals Virgil Earp and Leslie Blackburn, with Earp in charge of most of the fieldwork, backed by his brother and deputy Wyatt Earp. Virgil also served as city marshal of Tombstone, which left Wyatt with most of the federal work. Wyatt Earp coveted Behan’s well-paid job as sheriff, and the election would be coming up in the fall of 1882.

According to Wyatt, he tried to make a deal with Frank McLaury and Ike Clanton, the most visible of the Clanton brothers and a known friend of the rustling crowd, to tell him the whereabouts of the three stage robbers. This would bolster Earp’s chances in the election, and Ike would receive the reward. Before the deal could be completed, two bartender brothers killed Leonard and Head in a remote New Mexico Territory mining village. An army of Cowboys rode down and killed the brothers in retribution. In August, another cattle raid in Mexico caused Commandant Felipe Neri to dispatch troops to the border, where they found a group of Americans bedded down on the U.S. side of the crossing at Guadalupe Canyon. The Mexicans crept the few feet across the border and opened fire, killing five, among them stage robber Jim Crane and Newman Clanton, scion of the Clanton clan, who left behind sons Ike, Fin and Billy. With no deal left for him, Ike Clanton grew increasingly worried. Wyatt Earp knew Ike had made a deal to turn on his Cowboy buddies, information that could have ruined Ike’s standing in the rustling community.

With the borders closed, outlawry against Americans grew more commonplace in the backcountry. The Earps emerged as the leading law officers, taking an aggressive stand against the region’s criminal elements. The Cowboys resented their actions. ‘They met at Charleston and took an oath over blood drawn from the arm of John Ring[o], the leader, that they would kill us,’ Virgil Earp said. With emotion running stronger than the best saloon whiskey, Ike Clanton came to Tombstone to confront Wyatt Earp and learn whether Earp had been leaking the secret. According to Earp, Ike accused him of telling the secret to his friend John Henry ‘Doc’ Holliday, a heavy-drinking dentist with a quirky sense of humor. Earp denied the accusation and sent for Holliday, who was in Tucson. Holliday met with Clanton on the night of October 25 in the Occidental Saloon. By the Earp account, Holliday was angry that Clanton had made a false accusation against him.

As Ike told it, Holliday called him a ‘damned liar [who] had threatened the Earps….He told me to pull out my gun and if there was any grit in me, to go to fighting.’ Clanton, who was unarmed, said that Holliday ordered him to retrieve his gun. Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp appeared to break up the fight, with Wyatt walking Holliday back to his room at Fly’s lodging house. Then came perhaps the most improbable event of the day. Ike Clanton, after retrieving his six-shooter, sat down to a poker game with Virgil Earp, Tom McLaury, John Behan and one other player. It would be like ‘Ike’ Eisenhower pitching pennies with Adolf Hitler before the Battle of the Bulge. The game broke up around 7 a.m., with Ike Clanton requesting that Virgil deliver a message to Holliday: ‘The damned son of a bitch has got to fight,’ Ike supposedly told Virgil. Virgil said he responded: ‘Ike, I am an officer, and I don?t want to hear you talking that way at all.

I am going down home now to go to bed, and I don?t want you to raise any disturbance when I am in bed.”You won?t carry a message?’ Ike asked. Virgil said he would not. ‘You may have to fight before you know it,’ Ike said as Virgil walked away. Through the rest of the morning, Ike fueled his anger with whiskey, lurching from saloon to saloon to talk tough and make threats against the Earps. ‘He said that as soon as the Earps and Doc Holliday showed themselves on the street, the ball would open and that they would have to fight,’ said Ned Boyle, bartender at the Oriental Saloon, who went to awaken Wyatt and tell him of the threat. Deputy Marshal Andy Bronk also heard of the threats and woke Virgil. Injudiciously, both Wyatt and Virgil went back to sleep and ignored Ike’s ire. About noon on the 26th, Virgil and Morgan Earp spotted Ike carrying a six-shooter and a rifle. Virgil crashed his revolver into Ike’s head, then led the bloodied Cowboy to Judge Albert O. Wallace’s courtroom.

Wyatt Earp entered the room and said: ‘You damn dirty cow thief. You have been threatening our lives, and I know it. I think I would be justified in shooting you down any place I would meet you. But if you are anxious to make a fight, I will go anywhere on earth to make a fight with you — even over to San Simon among your crowd.’ ‘Fight is my racket, and all I want is 4 feet of ground,’ Clanton responded. ‘If you fellows had been a second later, I would have furnished a Coroner’s Inquest for this town.’ Morgan Earp held up Ike’s gun and taunted him, saying he would pay the fine if Ike would make a fight. Ike refused, saying he did not like the odds. Wallace fined Ike $25 for carrying firearms in the city limits. As Wyatt stepped out of the courtroom, he encountered Tom McLaury and engaged in an argument that led to Earp slapping the cowboy with his left hand, then beating him over the head with a six-shooter. Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton rode into town and stopped at the saloon in the Grand Hotel.

Cowboy pal Billy Claiborne told them of the beatings delivered to their brothers, and Frank dropped his whiskey glass without taking a sip. As the afternoon continued, the town grew more and more agitated, buzzing with trepidation that a conflict was brewing. The Earps congregated at the corner of Fourth and Allen, in front of Hafford’s Corner Saloon, and watched as Ike and Billy Clanton, along with Frank McLaury, entered Spangenberg’s gun shop. Frank and Billy purchased ammunition, but the proprietor refused to sell a gun to Ike. The Clantons and McLaurys left the gun shop and split up. The McLaurys went off to make collections for cattle they had sold, while Claiborne and Billy Clanton went to retrieve Billy’s horse. They would meet up again a few minutes later, at the O.K. Corral, where witnesses would overhear them making threats against the Earps. Back at Hafford’s, townsmen came to the Earps offering assistance and telling of the cowboy threats. City Marshal Virgil Earp said he asked Sheriff Behan to assist him in disarming the Cowboys.

Instead, Behan offered to go down and talk to the Clantons and McLaurys to see if he could peaceably disarm them by himself. After Virgil had waited nearly 20 minutes for Behan to make his talk, local businessman John Fonck came to tell the marshal of the Cowboys? actions. Virgil said he would not interfere if they were getting their horses and leaving town, but if they were armed and walking the streets he would have to arrest them. ‘Why,’ Fonck responded, ‘they are all down on Fremont Street now.’ Read More in Wild West Magazine Subscribe online and save nearly 40%!!! Virgil Earp turned to his two brothers, and to Holliday. He handed a short-barreled shotgun to Holliday to conceal under his long gray coat. Holliday then gave his walking stick to the marshal, and the four began the fateful walk that would become part of history. As they strode down Fremont Street, Behan rushed up to them and, according to the Earp brothers, said, ‘For God’s sake, don?t go down there or you will get yourself murdered.’ Virgil replied that he was going to disarm them. What the sheriff said next is uncertain.

Behan would say that he told the Earps, ‘I was there for the purpose of arresting and disarming them.’ The Earps believed the sheriff said he had already disarmed them, and they then — apparently disregarding the warning that they would get murdered — made the mistake of relaxing a little. Wyatt Earp put his six-shooter back in his coat pocket; Virgil shifted his six-shooter off his hip into a more difficult position to draw and held the walking stick in his right hand. When they arrived at the 15-foot-wide vacant lot on Fremont Street where the Cowboys had congregated, the Earps were surprised to see that at least two of the opposition — Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton — still carried revolvers, and rifles were visible on the horses. Virgil raised his walking stick and growled, ‘Throw up your hands, boys, I intend to disarm you.’ The shooting began quickly. Two shots, a pause, then the gunfight burst out on different fronts. Holliday surged forward to stalk Tom McLaury, partially hidden by a horse, then fired a shotgun charge into McLaury’s chest. At about the same moment, Ike lurched forward to grab Wyatt Earp.

Clanton said he heroically tried to push him out of the way. Earp said he told Ike, ‘The fight has commenced, get to fighting or get away.’ Ike, whose mouth had aroused the town and inflamed the Earps, then dashed from the scene. Virgil took a shot through the calf, most likely from Frank McLaury’s six-shooter. Billy Clanton took a bullet in the chest, probably from Morgan, then a shot in the right wrist. He switched gun hands, leaned back against a building and slowly crumpled to the ground as he continued firing. Morgan stumbled and fell, yelling, ‘I am hit,’ as a bullet entered one shoulder blade and passed out through the other. He rose, but soon fell again, probably tripping on a mound on Fremont Street where the town was putting in new water pipes. Badly wounded, Frank McLaury tried to use his horse for cover as he lurched into the street. He fired at Morgan, causing his horse to bolt. Unprotected and exhausted, Frank squatted in the street, but when Holliday pursued him, Frank stood, aimed and said, ‘I?ve got you now.’ ‘Blaze away.

You?re a daisy if you have,’ Holliday responded, according to the Nugget. McLaury fired, grazing Holliday’s side. ‘I?m shot right through,’ Holliday yelled. Frank McLaury staggered farther into the street as Morgan Earp and Doc both fired, Morgan’s shot crashing into the right side of McLaury’s head, Holliday’s into the Cowboy’s chest. McLaury continued to breathe as Holliday ran up and shouted, ‘The son of a bitch has shot me, and I mean to kill him!’ But it was too late. The fight had been shot out of Frank McLaury. His brother Tom had made it to the corner of Third and Fremont, where he lay dying at the base of a telegraph pole. Frank died in the street. Tom and Billy were carried into a nearby house, where they would survive for only minutes. With Morgan and Virgil Earp both wounded and Holliday grazed across the side, Wyatt Earp remained the only participant standing, untouched by lead. Behan strode over to Wyatt and said, ‘I will have to arrest you.’ A witness recalled Earp’s reply: ‘I won?t be arrested.

You deceived me, Johnny, you told me they were not armed. I won?t be arrested, but I am here to answer what I have done. I am not going to leave town.’ And Earp was not arrested — not then, at least. Almost immediately, journalist Richard Rule and his rivals at the Epitaph began scurrying to collect the news. Both stories were dramatic, colorful and tinged with blood. In the style of the day, they did not present many direct quotes, instead making journalists? assessments of the material. By the Epitaph report, the battle began when two Cowboys pulled their guns and fired the first two shots. The Nugget had it different, saying Frank McLaury made a motion for his gun, which prompted Wyatt Earp to quickly draw and shoot McLaury. Both stories led to a belief that the law officers had been in the right. Within 48 hours, the situation would change dramatically. As the coroner’s inquest began, well-liked Sheriff Behan, along with Ike Clanton, Claiborne and several Cowboy friends, testified to a much different beginning to the gunfight. They would report that the Earp party fired the first several shots of the conflict.

Clanton filed murder charges against the Earps, and a month-long preliminary hearing began at which both sides would air their versions of the events. By the Earp version, it was self-defense; by the Cowboy account, it was murder. Behan would serve as the most significant witness for the prosecution, which tried to have the Earps bound over for a murder trial. Key witnesses at the hearing in advancing the Cowboy version were Wesley Fuller, Billy Allen, Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne, who was under a murder indictment himself for an unrelated incident. They laid out a dramatic story of how at Virgil’s command the two Clantons and Frank McLaury thrust their arms in the air to comply, while Tom McLaury threw open his vest to show he was unarmed. Immediately someone from the Earp party screamed, ‘You sons of bitches have been looking for a fight, and now you can have one!’ Barely had those words sounded when two shots were fired, the first from Doc Holliday’s nickel-plated revolver and the other from another member of the Earp party, probably Morgan.

After a pause, the Earps got off several shots before Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton could pull their six-shooters and return fire. Tom McLaury was never armed and never fired. This image of men shot down in the act of surrendering would shock the community as reports appeared in the local press. Wyatt and Virgil Earp would present a much different story. Wyatt would say the fight began after Virgil’s call to disarm: ‘Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury laid their hands on their six-shooters. Virgil said, ?Hold, I don?t mean that. I have come to disarm you.? They — Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury — commenced to draw their pistols. At that moment Tom McLaury threw his hand to his right hip and jumped behind a horse. I had my pistol in my overcoat pocket where I had put it when Behan told us he had disarmed the other party. When I saw Billy and Frank draw their pistols, I drew my pistol. Billy Clanton leveled his pistol at me but I didn?t aim at him.

I knew that Frank McLaury had the reputation of being a good shot and a dangerous man, and I aimed at Frank McLaury. The two first shots which were fired were fired by Billy Clanton and myself; he shot at me, and I shot at Frank McLaury. I do not know which shot was first. We fired almost together.’ Neither Wyatt nor Virgil Earp mentioned the statement about the SOBs looking for a fight and getting one. By the Earp version, the fight began in self-defense when the Cowboys, armed in violation of law, made an aggressive move in defiance of a legal order. The Earp version closely reflected the Nugget‘s report of the gunfight, while the Cowboy story was in stark contrast to the immediate reporting after the event.When the preliminary hearing ended on December 1, Justice Wells Spicer ruled the case not be bound over for trial. This was decision without exoneration, as most of the key questions were left undetermined. Spicer ruled that there was not enough evidence to assure a likelihood of conviction. The Cochise County Grand Jury would later reopen the issue and concur with Spicer. The debate has raged on for 120 years as to who fired first.

The quest for a true understanding of events has been confused by a series of later writers advancing inaccurate or simply false information from supposed secret sources. Stuart Lake, in his classic Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal, stated flatly that the Cowboys drew and fired on the Earps, which is contradictory to the Earps? own version in the Spicer hearing. Frank Waters, in The Earp Brothers of Tombstone, quoted alleged eyewitnesses who were never called to testify in saying the Earps fired first at surrendering Cowboys. It has since been discovered that Waters tampered with material in the book, diminishing its credibility. The issue seemed resolved in 1976 when Glenn G. Boyer’s I Married Wyatt Earp appeared, asserting that Josephine Earp, Wyatt’s third wife, had secret information that Doc Holliday had actually fired the first shot and that Earp lied in the Spicer hearing to cover for his friend. However, Boyer has since admitted that this book is not actually Mrs. Earp’s memoir but rather a creative exercise.

Boyer further confused the issue with his 1993 Wyatt Earp’s Tombstone Vendetta, in which he now claimed Holliday told a confidant that Earp himself fired the first two shots so quickly they sounded as one. Four years later, Boyer acknowledged that this was also novelistic.The fictional and fantastic later writings must be discarded in order to gain an understanding of what actually occurred on that dusty street on October 26, 1881. By returning to the original sources, we can finally gain a grasp of what started the gunfight that refuses to die. The Behan/Cowboy version of the initial gunfire is based on the first shot being fired from Holliday’s revolver at the surrendering Clantons and McLaurys. For this to be accurate, Holliday would have needed to stage a sort of juggling act, firing the revolver, then going to the shotgun to shoot Tom McLaury, discarding the shotgun and returning to the revolver as he chased Frank McLaury into Fremont Street. And he would need to have done it without either the witnesses or survivors seeing it.

Behan claimed to have his eyes fixed on the Earp party, and the other pro-Cowboy witnesses testified that the Clantons and McLaurys were lifting their hands to surrender. However, Addie Bourland, a dressmaker watching from her shop across the street, testified that she clearly saw that none of the Cowboys had their hands in the air.Behan’s credibility would emerge as an issue late in the Spicer hearing. Deputy district attorney Winfield Scott Williams testified that the sheriff had inaccurately depicted a conversation with Virgil Earp after the gunfight in which, according to Williams, Behan told Virgil that one of the Cowboys had drawn his gun to start the fight. Equally important, documents were located in 1997 showing that Behan served as guarantor of a loan to Ike Clanton during the Spicer hearing. With Wyatt Earp seeking Behan’s job in the next election, the sheriff had much to gain from seeing his rival face a murder charge. And then there is Richard Rule. It is one of those flukes of history that the Nugget story ever appeared as it did.

Publisher Harry Woods also served as Behan’s undersheriff, but he was off in El Paso fetching a prisoner at the time of the gunfight. This left the talented and experienced Rule to oversee the newsgathering and writing of a story that would be essentially pro-Earp. With the Nugget‘s connections to the sheriff’s office, it would be logical to seek out Behan as a source for the story. What makes this even more probable is that the Nugget story, without attribution, states, ‘The Sheriff stepped out and said: ?Hold up boys, don?t go down there or there will be trouble; I have been down there to disarm them.?’ Behan would repeatedly insist he told the Earps that he had been down to disarm the cowboys, not that he had actually done the disarming. The article relates details of the conversation Behan had had with the Cowboys. The story further states that Behan ‘was standing near by commanding the contestants to cease firing but was powerless to prevent it’ — a claim that sounds as if it came from Behan’s own mouth. It is hard to imagine the Nugget not interviewing Behan for this story. By Williams?

account, immediately after the gunfight, Behan told Virgil Earp a story similar to the Nugget report before changing his story at the coroner’s inquest. For the Behan/Cowboy version of the first shots to be true, Doc Holliday would have had to orchestrate an incredible revolver-shotgun-revolver shuffle, an officer of the court would have had to lie under oath and both the Nugget and Epitaph would have had to have missed the biggest story of their existences. This remarkable chain of events is so unlikely as to render it unbelievable. The O.K Corral - Tombstone - Arizona - United States. - YouTube The O.K Corral - Tombstone - Arizona - United States. Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Dec 1, 2014 The O.K Corral - Tombstone - Arizona - United States. The Gunfight at the O.K.

Corral was a 30-second gunfight between outlaw Cowboys and lawmen that is generally regarded as the most famous gunfight in the history of the American Wild West. The gunfight took place at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. It was the result of a long-simmering feud between Cowboys Billy Claiborne, Ike and Billy Clanton, and Tom and Frank McLaury, and opposing lawmen: town Marshal Virgil Earp, Assistant Town Marshal Morgan Earp, and temporary deputy marshals Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne ran from the fight unharmed, but Billy Clanton and both McLaury brothers were killed. Virgil, Morgan, and Doc Holliday were wounded, but Wyatt Earp was unharmed. The fight has come to represent a period in American Old West when the frontier was virtually an open range for outlaws, largely unopposed by law enforcement who were spread thin over vast territories, leaving some areas unprotected.

The gunfight was not well known to the American public until 1931, when author Stuart Lake published a largely fictionalized biography, Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal, two years after Earp's death. Published during the Great Depression, the book captured American imaginations. It was also the basis for the 1946 film, My Darling Clementine, by director John Ford. After the film Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was released in 1957, the shootout became known by that name. Since then, the conflict has been portrayed with varying degrees of accuracy in numerous Western films and books. Despite its name, the historic gunfight did not take place within or next to the O.K. Corral, but in a narrow lot next to Fly's Photographic Studio, six doors west of the rear entrance to the O.K. Corral on Fremont Street. The two opposing parties were initially only about 6 feet (1.8 m) apart. About thirty shots were fired in thirty seconds.

Ike Clanton filed murder charges against the Earps and Doc Holliday, but they were eventually exonerated by a local judge after a 30-day preliminary hearing, and then by a local grand jury. The gunfight was not the end of the conflict, and on December 28, 1881, Virgil Earp was ambushed and maimed in a murder attempt by the outlaw Cowboys. On March 18, 1882, Morgan Earp was shot through the glass door of a saloon and killed by the Cowboys. The suspects in both incidents furnished solid alibis and were not indicted. Wyatt Earp, newly appointed as Deputy U.S. Marshal in the territory, took matters into his own hands in a personal vendetta. He was pursued by county Sheriff Johnny Behan, who had a warrant for his arrest. All images are either in the Public Domain or on Google images labeled for reuse. All music is credited to with kind permission to Kevin MacLeod and his website incompetech - Royalty free music - Text by wikipedia - Gunfight at the O.K.

Corral - National Geographic Society On October 26, 1881, lawmen and outlaw s faced off in the famous “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.” The Tombstone, Arizona, gunfight has come to symbolize the “Wild West” of the American frontier in the late 1800s. The famous gunfight did not actually take place in Tombstone’s O.K. Corral . It happened in a vacant lot next to a boarding house where gunfight participant John Henry “Doc” Holliday was staying. There, town marshal Virgil Earp met with his brothers Morgan and Wyatt, and their friend Doc. The Earps and Holliday all had criminal backgrounds, but represent ed “ law and order” business interests in Tombstone. On the other side of the conflict were five members of the Cowboys, a loosely organized rural gang . The Cowboys were accuse d of being thieves and cattle rustler s, although several were also landowners and legal rancher s. The Cowboys represented the “untamed” interests of the Old West, and had the unofficial support of the county sheriff .

The competing economic interests of the urban town and rural county were represented by competing newspapers—the Epitaph (which generally supported the Earps) and the Nugget (which generally supported the Cowboys). The Earps and Holliday walked away from the gunfight, which lasted about 30 seconds. Three Cowboys were killed, and the Earps and Holliday were found not guilty in their deaths. The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral began a series of attacks that lasted more than a year. Eventually, the Earps left Arizona for the even wilder New Mexico Territory. Over the years, the Cowboys were arrest ed, killed in violent conflicts with other outlaws or lawmen, or simply forced out of business as infrastructure and government “ tame d” the Wild West. Term to blame or charge with a fault or crime. arrest to take into legal custody. business sale of goods and services, or a place where such sales take place. cattle rustler person who steals cattle. Also called a cattle raider or (in Australia) a duffer. conflict a disagreement or fight, usually over ideas or procedures. corral enclosed area, usually for livestock.

county Noun political unit smaller than a state or province, but typically larger than a city, town, or other municipality. person convicted of a crime. economic having to do with money. frontier largely unpopulated area that is slowly being opened up for settlement. gang group of people gathered for a criminal enterprise. government system or order of a nation, state, or other political unit. infrastructure structures and facilities necessary for the functioning of a society, such as roads. law to make illegal or against the law. rancher person who owns or manages a livestock farm (ranch). represent to stand for a person, community, or idea. rural having to do with country life, or areas with few residents. sheriff law enforcement officer, usually of a county. symbolize to represent an object, idea, organization, or geographical region. tame to domesticate or make useful for humans. territory land an animal, human, or government protects from intruders. town human settlement larger than a village and smaller than a city. urban having to do with city life.

vacant Shootout at the OK Corral - Oct 26, 1881 - HISTORY.com This Day in History: 10/26/1881 - Shootout at the OK Corral In this "This Day in History" video clip learn about different events that have occurred on October 26th. Some of the events include the last case of small pox and the first baboon to human heart transplant. Also, the Patriot Act was passed and the Earps had their showdown at the OK Corral. Lead Story Shootout at the OK Corral Share this: Shootout at the OK Corral Author Shootout at the OK Corral URL Publisher A+E Networks On this day in 1881, the Earp brothers face off against the Clanton-McLaury gang in a legendary shootout at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. After silver was discovered nearby in 1877, Tombstone quickly grew into one of the richest mining towns in the Southwest.

Wyatt Earp, a former Kansas police officer working as a bank security guard, and his brothers, Morgan and Virgil, the town marshal, represented “law and order” in Tombstone, though they also had reputations as being power-hungry and ruthless. The Clantons and McLaurys were cowboys who lived on a ranch outside of town and sidelined as cattle rustlers, thieves and murderers. In October 1881, the struggle between these two groups for control of Tombstone and Cochise County ended in a blaze of gunfire at the OK Corral. On the morning of October 25, Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury came into Tombstone for supplies. Over the next 24 hours, the two men had several violent run-ins with the Earps and their friend Doc Holliday. Around 1:30 p.m. on October 26, Ike’s brother Billy rode into town to join them, along with Frank McLaury and Billy Claiborne. The first person they met in the local saloon was Holliday, who was delighted to inform them that their brothers had both been pistol-whipped by the Earps. Frank and Billy immediately left the saloon, vowing revenge.

Around 3 p.m., the Earps and Holliday spotted the five members of the Clanton-McLaury gang in a vacant lot behind the OK Corral, at the end of Fremont Street. The famous gunfight that ensued lasted all of 30 seconds, and around 30 shots were fired. Though it’s still debated who fired the first shot, most reports say that the shootout began when Virgil Earp pulled out his revolver and shot Billy Clanton point-blank in the chest, while Doc Holliday fired a shotgun blast at Tom McLaury’s chest. Though Wyatt Earp wounded Frank McLaury with a shot in the stomach, Frank managed to get off a few shots before collapsing, as did Billy Clanton. When the dust cleared, Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers were dead, and Virgil and Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday were wounded. Ike Clanton and Claiborne had run for the hills. Sheriff John Behan of Cochise County, who witnessed the shootout, charged the Earps and Holliday with murder.

A month later, however, a Tombstone judge found the men not guilty, ruling that they were “fully justified in committing these homicides.” The famous shootout has been immortalized in many movies, including Frontier Marshal (1939), Gunfight at the OK Corral (1957), Tombstone (1993) and Wyatt Earp (1994). Related Videos Tombstone, Arizona: "The Town Too Tough To Die" Tombstone, Arizona: "The Town Too Tough To Die" June 09, 2014 Allen Street in Tombstone shows the town's wild west roots Share Copy and paste the embed code below. The code has been copied to your clipboard. From VOA Learning English, welcome to This is America. I’m Steve Ember. The United States has thousands of "ghost towns." [Wind and prairie sounds] These are communities that once were successful but all the population moved to other places. Today on our program, we visit a town in the western state of Arizona that was saved from being a ghost town by a violent history. [Gun Shots] It is called Tombstone. Come along with us!

Silver miner Ed Schieffelin founded the town of Tombstone (Photo taken in 1880) The town that is now Tombstone, Arizona was first a mining camp. Silver miner Ed Schieffelin named the town. In 1877, Mr. Schieffelin was searching for silver in the Arizona territory. The area at the time was extremely dangerous. Apache Indians considered it to be their land and were all too ready to fight for it. Ed Schieffelin used the army’s Camp Huachuca as a base for his search for silver. The soldiers there once asked him why he went out into Apache country every day. He answered: “To collect rocks.” One soldier then told him: “You keep fooling around out there amongst them Apaches and the only rock you’ll find will be your tombstone!” A tombstone is the stone that marks a person’s grave in a large burial place. One day not long after, Ed Schieffelin finally did discover valuable silver ore in the area. He decided to call his claim “Tombstone” because of the soldier’s warning. Soon, people heard about his silver discovery and arrived in the area. Others found more silver and established other mines.

And they used the name Tombstone for the town they built nearby. The area around Tombstone became well known for its silver mines. And more people came to the town. Some were settlers, storekeepers and miners. But others were looking for easy money. These were gamblers and thieves who drank too much alcohol and settled their disagreements with their guns. [Gunfire] Tombstone, Arizona as it looked in 1891 By the end of 1881, the town of Tombstone had a population of more than 5,000. It also had five local newspapers, at least two theaters, a courthouse, hotels and many local drinking places. And a gunfight had already taken place that would forever include Tombstone among the famous stories told about the American Wild West. [Frankie Laine sings “Gunfight at OK Corral”] OK Corral, OK Corral Oh, my dearest one, must I lay down my gun And take the chance of losing you forever? Duty calls, my back’s against the wall Have you no kind words to say before I ride away? It was the Gunfight at the OK Corral.

Kirk Douglas (Doc Holliday), Burt Lancaster (Wyatt Earp), John Hudson (Virgil Earp) and DeForest Kelley (Morgan Earp) in 1957 film 'Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" The famous gunfight took place on October 26, 1881 between the town's top lawman, or marshal, and his deputies on one side and an outlaw group called the Cowboys on the other. Stories from people who saw the fight led to newspaper reports, more stories, books, and later, movies and television shows. Not all these stories are exactly true. For example, the gunfight did not really take place in the OK Corral, but near it in a field just off a main street in town. Here is one generally accepted story. A photograph of Virgil Earp The town marshal in Tombstone was Virgil Earp. His brothers, Wyatt and Morgan, also lived in the town. In fact, Wyatt was deputy city marshal, and Morgan had been named as a special policeman. The Earps had a long-standing dispute with the Cowboys. They had tried to arrest group members in the past for crimes such as robbery and murder.

Members of the group included Billy Claiborne, Ike Clanton, Billy Clanton, Tom McLaury and Frank McLaury. [Corral sounds] On the day of the famous fight, those men were gathered near the OK Corral, an enclosed area used to keep horses and other animals. They were armed, in violation of a town ban against carrying guns. They were also drinking alcohol and threatening to kill the Earp brothers. Virgil Earp decided that it was his duty to disarm them. His two brothers and a friend, the gunfighter Doc Holliday, went along to help. The four walked down the street toward the corral. Virgil Earp told the cowboys to surrender their weapons. Billy Claiborne ran away. And the fight began. [Gun battle] It did not last long. Historians say 32 shots were fired in the space of about 23 seconds. No one really knows who fired first. But Tom McLaury, Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton died of gunshot wounds. Virgil Earp, Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday were wounded but survived. Only Ike Clanton and Wyatt Earp were not hurt.

A 1993 movie called “Tombstone” is one of the most recent attempts to tell this story. Listen to its recreation of the famous fight. Sam Elliott is Virgil, Kurt Russell is Wyatt and Stephen Lang plays Ike Clanton. Virgil: “We’re here to disarm you. Throw up your hands.” Voice: “Hold it. It’s not what I want.” Wyatt: “Oh…my….God.” Ike: “Please…please!!! Stop! No! No! Don’t shoot. I got no gun. Please. Don’t shoot me. I got no gun!” Voice: “Ike…get to fightin’ or get away.” The Earps and Doc Holliday were arrested for murder and tried in the courthouse. A judge decided they had acted within the law. Wyatt Earp spoke in his own defense at the trial. Here is part of the local newspaper’s report of what he said: Portrait of Wyatt Earp “…I believed then, and I believe now…that these men…had formed a conspiracy to murder my brothers Morgan and Virgil and Doc Holliday and myself.

I believe I would have been legally and morally justified in shooting any of them on sight, but I did not do so or attempt to do so; I sought no advantage. When I went as deputy marshal to help disarm and arrest them, I went as part of my duty and under the direction of my brother, the marshal. “I did not intend to fight unless it became necessary in self-defense and in the performance of official duty. When Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury drew their pistols I knew it was a fight for life, and I drew and fired in defense of my own life and the lives of my brothers and Doc Holliday.” Some people still dispute this. They say the Earps and Doc Holliday did not fire in self-defense, but used the law as an excuse for murder. Experts say one of the reasons the gunfight is so interesting to many people is that no one knows who shot first or why. But we do know that the violence between the Earps and the Cowboys did not end at the OK Corral. Two more attempts to kill the Earp brothers took place after the famous fight. The first injured Virgil; the second killed Morgan.

Wyatt, Doc Holliday and others decided to hunt down and kill those members of the Cowboys they felt were responsible. Today, the gunfight at the OK Corral brings visitors from all over the world to the small town of Tombstone. The latest information from the Tombstone Chamber of Commerce says the town has a population of almost 1,400 people. More than 50 thousand people stopped by the Tombstone Visitor Center in 2013. But the town welcomes thousands more each year. At the OK Corral, actors still recreate the famous gunfight. But other gunfighters are remembered in Tombstone, as well. For years, a restaurant called “Six Gun City” recreated some of the other gunfights that took place in Tombstone. A fire destroyed the restaurant in 2010. But those gunfight reenactments continue. [Gun battles] For example, one recreation plays out the gunfight that killed Billy Claiborne, a member of the Cowboys gang, who ran from the OK Corral. He was killed by gunfighter Frank Leslie on the main street in Tombstone. In fact, a marker near the spot tells what happened.

It says: "Buckskin Frank Leslie killed Billy Claiborne here on November 14, 1882.” Boot Hill in Tombstone, Arizona contains the remains of gun fighters who lost their lives in the wild west town. [Frankie Laine sings] Wyatt Earp, they say, saved Doc Holliday From old Boot Hill… Gunfighters and others who died in those early Tombstone years are buried in the local graveyard, “Boot Hill.” [Wind blows] It was named “Boot Hill” because many of those buried there died violently, or, as the saying goes, “with their boots on.” Burials there ended after 1884, but the cemetery was restored in the 1930s. Only a few headstones survive, but small metal signs mark the graves. Many simply say “unknown,” but others include short sayings. One that has been repeated many times says: “Here Lies Lester Moore, Four Slugs from a 44, No Les, No More.” Saloon girls on Allen Street, Tombstone, Arizona People from all over the world visit Tombstone to experience a small part of the old American West.

They want to imagine what it would have been like to live in a place like Tombstone. It does not really matter if all the old stories are true or not. The people of Tombstone are only too happy to welcome them to a place known as “the town too tough to die.” Our program was written by Nancy Steinbach. Jim Tedder read the newspaper story, and I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week for This is America from VOA Learning English Tombstone, Arizona: "The Town Too Tough To Die" ​ Gun laws were tougher in old Tombstone - latimes YOU ARE HERE: LAT Home → Collections → News Gun laws were tougher in old Tombstone No need to check your firearm today in the Arizona town famed for the gunfight at the OK Corral. January 23, 2011 |By Bob Drogin, Los Angeles Times Cowboys Chris Wheeland and Cecilia Barron pose outside the OK Corral site… (Tim Gaynor, Reuters ) Reporting from Tombstone, Ariz.

— A billboard just outside this Old West town promises "Gunfights Daily!" and tourists line up each afternoon to watch costumed cowboys and lawmen reenact the bloody gunfight at the OK Corral with blazing six-shooters. But as with much of the Wild West, myth has replaced history. The 1881 shootout took place in a narrow alley, not at the corral. Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday weren't seen as heroic until later; they were initially charged with murder. And one fact is usually ignored: Back then, Tombstone had far stricter gun control than it does today. In fact, the American West's most infamous gun battle erupted when the marshal tried to enforce a local ordinance that barred carrying firearms in public. A judge had fined one of the victims $25 earlier that day for packing a pistol. "You could wear your gun into town, but you had to check it at the sheriff's office or the Grand Hotel, and you couldn't pick it up again until you were leaving town," said Bob Boze Bell, executive editor of True West Magazine, which celebrates the Old West.

"It was an effort to control the violence." A national debate over gun control has flared since a gunman killed six people and wounded 13 others, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, two weeks ago in Tucson. The suspect, Jared Lee Loughner, is accused of firing 31 shots from a Glock semiautomatic pistol with a high-capacity ammunition magazine. Hours after the rampage, Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik appeared to partly blame Arizona's lax gun laws for the violence, saying he opposed "letting everybody in the state carry weapons under any circumstances that they want, and that's almost where we are." "I think we're the Tombstone of the United States of America," he declared. Dupnik's dig didn't go down well here. Deep in the desert southeast of Tucson, Tombstone is tucked in a sere landscape of gullies and gulches, sagebrush and sorrel. About 1,500 people call it home, though the population swells each day as tourists clomp down wooden sidewalks, munch buffalo burgers and shop for cowboy kitsch.

Dupnik has "bank robberies and murders every week up there," fired back Ben Traywick, 83, a Tombstone historian who keeps a pistol on his desk and a shotgun nearby. "And he's bad-mouthing us? If you wanted to commit a crime, would you go to a town where everyone carries a gun? We have no crime." But that's another Tombstone myth. Local crime is low by big-city standards. But given the size of its population, with two rapes and 10 assaults in 2009, the last year for which figures are available, the town's violent-crime rate was higher than the state's average on a statistical basis. Similarly, with 88 crimes total, the town's crime index per 100,000 was higher than the national average, 475.5 compared with 319.2. Arizona's gun laws are among the most lenient in the nation. Under legislation passed last year, guns are permitted almost everywhere in the state except doctors' offices and some businesses. It is one of three states, along with Alaska and Vermont, that allow people 21 or older to carry concealed weapons without a permit.

Concealed guns may be carried into bars as long as the gun owner isn't drinking, and guns are permitted on school grounds as long as the weapon is unloaded and the owner remains in a vehicle. Any law-abiding citizen 18 or older may buy or possess a rifle or shotgun. To buy a handgun, federal law requires a minimum age of 21. Firearms may be sold 14 hours a day, seven days a week, except Christmas. Arizona's love of guns is rooted in its rugged rural history and enshrined in the state's constitution, drafted in 1910. "The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself or the state shall not be impaired," it reads. The state celebrates its independent spirit and a culture of individual rights and distrust of government. Given its lurid past, Tombstone may not be a typical community. But it provides vivid evidence of what state law allows in practice. "In this town, pretty much everyone carries a gun," said John Wiest, 65, a storekeeper who patted a Ruger semiautomatic pistol on his side.

"I carry it into the bank when I go in to make a deposit each morning," said Dave Ericson, 60, a California native who moved here last year and wears a working reproduction of an 1873 Colt Peacemaker in a hand-tooled holster on his hip. "No one even looks up." A few shops and restaurants in the historic district, including Big Nose Kate's Saloon, remain true to the Old West gun ordinances that were common on the frontier and have posted "No Weapons Allowed" on their doors. A block away, the OK Corral gunfight site similarly bars anyone from bringing a real gun to the fake gunfight. Still, many here view the idea of gun control — even restricting sales of the extended-ammunition magazine used in the Tucson shootings — as little better than cattle-rustling. 10/22/2013 • Ask Mr. History I was watching an episode of Wyatt Earp on T.V. and I noticed that when the OK corral was seen, the sign said, “O. K. CORRAL.” I’ve never seen it listed that way before that I can remember, so my question is, Was it called the OK Corral or the O. K.

Corral and if the latter, what did the O. K. stand for? Thank you Joseph Frith ? ? ? It is spelled O.K. Corral (with periods) by most everyone who studies and writes about it … as it is true to the 1880s signs. HOW THE O.K. CORRAL® GOT ITS NAME (Text taken from the historic display in the O.K. Corral Office Museum.) The phrase “O.K.”, used to name Tombstone, Arizona’s historic O.K. Corral, had its origins in the Pennsylvania Dutch country of New York State in the mid-1800s. Today, the term appears in many languages, and has become one of the most used phrases in the world. It is even used in computer programs to indicate agreement. Not bad for an idiomatic expression that is over 150 years old and almost disappeared from use. Originally spelled with periods, this term outlived most similar abbreviations of the era owing to its use in President Martin Van Buren’s 1839 campaign for reelection.

During the presidential campaign, candidate Martin Van Buren was supported by a political club in his home town of Old Kinderhook originally called the “Oll Korrect” club. The name was later changed to “Old Kinderhook” and then shortened to “O.K.”. Van Buren was an O.K. Club member, and his supporters used the term as a general descriptive term for their candidate who they saw as “above average” or “outstanding”. The abbreviation proved eminently suitable for political slogans and campaign pins, although Van Buren lost the election. During the 1830s there was a humoristic fashion in Boston newspapers to reduce a phrase to initials and supply an explanation in parentheses. Sometimes the abbreviations were deliberately misspelled to add to the humor. Opposition newspapers used O.K. in March 1839 as an abbreviation for all correct, the joke being that neither the O nor the K was correct. Here is how one unhappy opposition newspaper of the time described Van Buren’s O.K. campaign pins: “frightful letters …… significant of the birth-place of Martin Van Buren, Old Kinderhook, as also the rallying word of the Democracy of the late election, ”all correct” ….

Those who wear them should bear in mind that it will require their most strenuous exertions …… to make all things O.K.” The term then seems to have largely disappeared from use until some time after the Civil War. Eventually it came back into general use, and was thus chosen by John Montgomery to describe his “O.K. Corral, Livery and Feed Stable” which he founded in Tombstone, Arizona in February, 1879. How should O.K. be written? John Montgomery always used “O.K.” on his Corral’s 1880s signs. Today, however, there are many versions: two capital letters without periods, two capital letters with periods, o-k-a-y, or two small letters with periods. There is also the question of what part of speech O.K. represents: a noun, a verb, an interjection, a complete sentence, or part of another sentence? In fact, the term “O.K.” goes beyond the boundaries of any single grammatical category to encompass a huge range of expressions. The famous October 26, 1881 “Gunfight at the O.K.

Corral” pitted Wyatt Earp, his brothers Virgil and Morgan, and Doc Holliday against the McLaurys and Clantons. In 30 seconds of gunfire, three men were killed and three were wounded. The Gunfight did not actually take place inside the O.K. Corral itself. Instead, it began in a 18-foot wide vacant lot behind the Corral next to C.S. Fly’s Boarding House and Photography Studio where Doc Holliday was living. Today, visitors to the O.K. Corral Museum Complex in Tombstone, AZ can visit the actual site of the gunfight, tour the O.K. Corral as it was in the 1880s, and even see Doc Holliday’s room. Visit for further information. Sincerely, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral | Wyatt Earp Story | Tombstone AZ Gunfight at the OK Corral By Stephanie Tallman Smith Arguably the most famous gunfight in the history of the American west, the Gunfight at the OK Corral is more than just the clash between Wyatt Earp and the Clanton brothers.

It is now recognized as a symbolic cultural battle between old and new, hired lawmen versus outlaw gunmen, western values against eastern business. Even so, the Gunfight remains an exciting example of western lore, entertaining and educating generation after generation of western aficionados. Depicted countless times in books and on film, the historic 30 shots that rang out across the town of Tombstone, in the Arizona Territory, ring as loud today as they did on October 26, 1881. The Beginning Tombstone at the time of the Gunfight was undergoing rapid expansion. The discovery of silver in the Goose Flats area of the territory by prospector Ed Schieffelin had turned the once desolate landscape into a bustling boomtown complete with saloons, a theater, gambling halls, fine hotels and restaurants that would rival those of San Francisco or New York. Chinese immigrant construction workers couldn't work fast enough to keep up with the demand for new shops and buildings by the hundreds of businessmen flooding the town with eastern big money. Innovations such as refrigeration and limited telephone service brought even more boomers to the town, seeking their fortune among the many mines and other industries popping up around Tombstone.

While the newcomers marveled at the progress of their newfound home, the area remained a desert landscape, home to cattle ranches and cattle rustlers, bank robbers and outlaws. Many of the stagecoaches bringing investors to the town were robbed on a regular basis, and the rowdy behavior of the cowboys in the saloons and gambling halls terrorized citizens and scared away business. The business owners, fearing the outlaw's behavior would drive away the miners and even the families that had moved west to join them, protected their interests by bringing in the law. The Earps Although he carried no badge, Wyatt Earp became the unofficial Chief of Police of Tombstone, partly because of his astute business sense, partly because of his friendship with the rather successful gambler and well-connected John "Doc" Holliday and partly because his brother, Virgil Earp, was already a deputized U.S. Marshal. Together with their brother Morgan, the Earps and Holliday set out to rid the town of the outlaws, often provoking gunfights under the authority of Virgil's badge until one day, the outlaw bandits had had enough.

The Clantons Ike and Billy Clanton (Billie on his Boot Hill grave marker) were cattle rustlers and bandits who, with their cowboy partners Tom and Frank McLaury were responsible for much of the saloon fights, stagecoach robberies and even murders in the western backcountry surrounding Tombstone. It was a direct confrontation with the Clantons and McLaurys that led to the fateful Gunfight. It Began With a Gun Although Tombstone was the heart of the Wild, Wild West, the carrying of firearms or other deadly weapons inside the City limits was against the law. This was an attempt by the Earps to control violence when the cowboys came to town and got drunk, and eliminate the threat that they themselves would be shot in a standoff between the interests of the business owners and the interests of the bandits. For several days leading up to October 26, 1881, the Clantons were in and out of jail and court for flagrantly violating the gun ordinance. The last straw came at noon on the 26th when Ike Clanton was spotted by several townspeople being fully armed and going from saloon to saloon, getting drunker by the minute.

The Earps arrested Ike Clanton and after a visit before the judge, Clanton paid his $25 fine and set out to find his brother and the McLaurys. Death threats between the two sides grew louder and more credible; leading both the Clantons and Earps to believe a showdown was inevitable. Finally, around 3:00 p.m on October 31, 1881. the Earps caught up with the Clantons and McLaurys at the OK Corral, and the shooting started. Thirty seconds later thirty shots had been fired and three men were dead. Billy Clanton and both Tom and Frank McLaury were killed, while Morgan and Virgil Earp were wounded. Witnesses were confused as to who started shooting first, and people loyal to each side had their own ideas about what happened that day. Visit The OK Corral Today, visitors to Tombstone can retrace the steps of the Clantons as they make their way across Fremont Street, or the Earps and Holliday as they approach the OK Corral looking for the outlaws.

After reenacting the shootout, take a trip to the outskirts of town and visit Boot Hill , the final resting place for the McLaurys and Billy Clanton. Judge for yourself what happened over 125 years ago. Whatever the truth may be, the Gunfight at the OK Corral remains the most legendary gun battle in the history of the American west. Suggested Reading Gunfight At The OK Corral - Tombstone - Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday - Ike Clanton What Hollywood never told you, this is what really happened! By Terry Ike Clanton A fourth generation cousin of the Clantons involved in this famous confrontation Gunfight At The OK Corral Let me take you back to a cold, windy, overcast day, October 26 1881. This is the re-creation of the famous OK Corral Gunfight in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. The way it happened! Let me set the scene: The night before in the Earps presence, Doc Holliday had a verbal confrontation and began threatening and openly challenging the life of an un-armed Ike Clanton. The next morning Ike Clanton armed himself in self defense and went looking for Hollidayï¿½s challenge.

Before Ike could find Holliday, Virgil and Morgan Earp snuck up on Ike and buffaloed (pistol whipped) him to the ground. He was taken to court and fined $27.50 for carrying firearms in city limits. To no avail, Ike was claiming self defense, because of Hollidayï¿½s threats against his life. Mean time, Ikeï¿½s younger brother Billy and Frank McLaury ride into Tombstone to hear of the trouble. Ike and Billy Clanton, Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy Claiborne are seen outside the Gun shop on Fourth Street. Here Frank McLaury begins to show his anger as he learns that his brother Tom has also been buffaloed by Wyatt Earp for supporting Ike Clantonï¿½s claims of self defense. Meanwhile, the Earps brothers (Wyatt, Morgan and Virgil) are joined in Haffords Saloon by J.H. "Doc" Holliday. This is where Tombstone Chief of Police Virgil Earp committed an injudicious and censurable act.

If Virgil Earp really wanted to keep peace as he stated, he would not have asked Doc Holliday, the town gambling drunk and known trouble maker to help him and his brothers disarm the cowboys. Especially when the night before, Virgil witnessed the verbal confrontation between "Doc" and Ike Clanton. It is my opinion that this injudicious act is why the Earps should have been held responsible for the m.urders of my cousin Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers. The cowboys gather in a vacant lot behind the OK Corral, between Flys Photo Studio and the Harwood house. Sheriff Johnny Behan heads down Fremont Street towards the vacant lot where the Cowboys have gathered. Here Sheriff Johnny Behan converses with the Cowboys. He tells them "I donï¿½t want any trouble boys, let me have your weapons." Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury respond and show the Sheriff that they are unarmed. Billy Clanton is armed but tells the Sheriff heï¿½s getting ready to leave town.

An angry Frank McLaury says, "I ainï¿½t given up my weapons till you disarm the Earps, they have been threatening to kill us." The Confrontation Begins The Earp brothers and Doc Holliday come walking down Fremont Street. To no avail, Sheriff Johnny Behan tries to stop them from going down to the vacant lot. The True Distance Of The Fight! Here the Earps and Doc Holliday confront the four cowboys, only two of the cowboys are armed. Ike Clanton announces he's unarmed and tries to stop any type of confrontation. Tom McLaury opens his vest to show he's not armed. As Virgil Earp verbally tries to calm everything down, Doc Holliday and Morgan Earp murderously open fire on the cowboys. Here in the background, you can see Ike Clanton, still bleeding from the head, running for his life, just as the gunfight begins. This is only a brief review of what really happened. See our history section for more indepth history, testimony re-visited and more...

SLIDE SHOW Funeral Reenactment of OK Corral gunfight murder victims on the 125 Anniversary The original funeral for Billy Clanton and Frank & Tom McLaury took place the on Oct. 27, 1881. They're all buried in Boothill Graveyard in Tombstone. The slide show above is the reenactment of this funeral on the 125th Anniversary of the OK Corral gunfight weekend 24-28, 2006. I would like to thank the Boothill Gunslingers for posing for these pictures. The Boothill Gunslingers are a local Tombstone performance group that provides tourists with gunfight reenactments in the famous OK Corral.

Question: In which American State did the Gunfight at the OK Corral take place?
Answer: Arizona